George H Slight, on completing his
term of office as Secretary, read a paper to the 1867 AGM, On
Photographic Societies in which he reported that many of
Britain’s photographic societies were languishing or had already
expired.He said:

“in
a good working society, there should be a thorough admixture of
different classes of the community among the Members – such as
professionals, working amateurs of all ranks, and others calling
themselves amateurs who may have only a general hankering after
photographic pursuits”.

He
referred to this last class as:

“ornamental
Members, useful from their position and influence in giving a certain
status to a society, not to be despised, and in assisting to augment the
funds”.

At
the same meeting, Sheriff Frederick Hallard, in his Presidential address
said:

“The
success of our art-science has been so full and so complete that its
progress, on that very account, now seems at a standstill; so much has
been done that to all appearance little remains to be done.”

He had little enthusiasm for the prospect
of colour photography:

“Far
be from me the presumption of saying that these victories will never be
achieved, … I shall add that I would not feel much grieved if I were
assured by some competent authority that the full and competent
reproduction of natural colours by photographic means was a thing for
ever beyond our reach.”